Sundridge Park
This quite charming
station came into use with the Bromley (SER) branch on 1st January 1878, being
known as ‘’Plaistow’’ from the outset. The station took its name from the parish
of Bromley it was located within, and the largest structure in the immediate
area at the time was Plaistow Lodge, residing 265 yards east of the railway. It
has been well documented within this website that the SER took a widespread
‘’economical’’ approach to station construction from about 1860, with virtually
all structures being fabricated from wood. The Bromley branch was no exception,
and the line’s terminus was wholly wooden in construction – the only brick in
evidence was that which constituted the chimneystacks, the water tower base, and
a small hut. However, Plaistow appears to have been a little luckier, instead
receiving more ‘’permanent’’ treatment. Two platform faces were in evidence here
from the outset, and the late opening date of the station suggests that the
covered lattice footbridge at the northern end of the layout is also an original
feature. The main waiting facilities here were positioned on the ‘’up’’
platform; these were single-storey, with a pitched roof, and were crème brick in
construction - even toilet facilities were incorporated within these. A
one-storey high crème brick wall continued northwards from this structure, up to
the footbridge, and supported a copious and intricate canopy on its eastern
elevation (excepting the valance, this arrangement can still be viewed today).
The ‘’down’’ platform did not feature any dedicated waiting accommodation as
such, but like its ‘’up’’ side counterpart, a single-storey high crème brick
wall ran along the outside edge of the platform, supporting a canopy of
identical design. The fact that the ‘’down’’ side canopy was nearly twice as
long as that on the ‘’up’’ side, perhaps compensates for the lack of waiting
facilities for Bromley-bound passengers. It was only once a passenger left
platform level that he or she would notice the clapboard content. The location
of the platforms within a cutting saw a ‘’high-level’’ entrance come into use.
This was single-storey, of clapboard construction at 44-foot long, and was
positioned on the ‘’down’’ side, immediately north of the footbridge entrance.
It was typical of SER design, even incorporating this company’s sash-style
windows, these commonly seen on the company’s signal boxes.
The station became ‘’Sundridge Park’’ on 1st July 1894, after the manor house
and large grounds just to the north east. No goods facilities have ever been
established, such traffic unsurprisingly being dealt with at the end of the
line. Furthermore, the simplicity of the layout through Sundridge Park also
negated the requirement of a signal box; instead, the SER-designed cabin at the
Bromley terminus controlled the branch. The distance between the southern end of
Sundridge Park’s platforms and the buffer stops at Bromley was a mere 640 yards.
The former station was provided at the request of a local landowner, just like
Grove Park had been, which indicates why the effort was taken to establish
through platforms so close to the end of the line.
When the branch originally opened, it was very rural in character. Indeed, it
has already been noted that the most prominent structure in the vicinity was a
lodge. The area gradually developed in the early 20th Century, but what
accelerated growth and urbanisation of the surrounds was the Southern Railway’s
electrification scheme of the 1920s. On 28th February 1926, the Bromley North
(suffix received on 1st July 1899) branch became ‘’live’’, which heralded a
faster, more frequent and more reliable service to the capital. It was now
possible to live further out from London and, consequently, the land surrounding
the stations on this line was redeveloped into roads of high-density housing.
The terminus at Bromley North was rebuilt for this occasion, but Sundridge Park
remained little changed, apart from witnessing an alteration in platform gas
lamp design. The station did not experience any serious modifications to its
layout until the British Railways era. In 1954, the platforms were lengthened at
their northern ends with prefabricated concrete, to accommodate the ten-car
electric formations then being introduced to alleviate overcrowding on suburban
services. With the platform extensions also came electric lighting, this
supported on concrete bracket lampposts. In conjunction with the alterations
undertaken on the Bromley North branch platform at Grove Park in 1962, some
structural economising was implemented at Sundridge Park, the ‘’down’’ side
suffering. This platform saw its ornate canopy demolished and the rear
supporting crème brick wall partially rebuilt at a lower height. Finally, in
2003, the sole remaining intricate canopy on the ‘’up’’ side was removed, and a
featureless corrugated metal fabrication installed in its place, utilising the
original stanchions. A bus shelter also appeared on the ‘’down’’ side around
this time.
A northward view from 2nd August 2006 reveals the covered lattice footbridge, the ''up'' side crème
brick structures adorned with the corrugated metal canopy from 2003, and the top of the pitched-roof
station building, on the upper right. The concrete platform extensions can be seen beyond the footbridge.
David Glasspool
The station building has had a recent repaint, and is seen on 2nd August 2006, complete with
SER sash-style windows. The arched entrance to the footbridge is to the structure's left, and
the original cobbled stones of 1878 are still in evidence in the foreground. David Glasspool
Another northward view from 2nd August 2006 better shows the rebuilt rear supporting wall
of the ''down'' side. The double wooden doors in-between the name board and bus shelter are
an authentic feature. David Glasspool
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